Immigration officials have set a deportation date for a local Roma family from the Czech Republic, despite their pleas to stay in Canada to avoid persecution in their home country.
Jan Pohlodko and his wife Eva Tulejova have three children and have been in Canada since June 2, 2009. They've been ordered to leave the country by Nov. 30. They applied for refugee status, citing persecution in the Czech Republic and pointed to cases of racist skinheads attacks on Roma as reason to let the family stay. Their application was denied on Dec. 21, 2010.
The family was living in a housing complex in South Burnaby, but they've moved in with relatives.
The family also underwent a pre-removal risk assessment, but that was rejected on Sept. 1. The assessment is to make sure that Canada is not deporting people to countries where their lives are at risk or they face the risk of persecution, torture or cruel and unusual treatment. The senior immigration officer who reviewed the family's case cited credibility concerns in the assessment results.
"While incidents of violence continue to occur, the government has initiated a number of programs and efforts to address the situation for Roma and other ethnic minorities," the officer wrote.
